The Prince and the Canary
by Kiaira
Summary: War has broken out throughout the world, and with war, comes slavery and death. Being taken away from her family has left seventeen year old Bulma frightened for her life, but upon arrival at the castle of King Freiza, she is pleased to discover that she is going to be spared becoming a harem girl, but a caregiver to the Freiza's ward, the young, wild and dangerous Prince Vegeta.
1. Prologue

**A/N: ** So this story is one I have been working on for about two years. Its mostly a piece of original fiction, but the characters themselves were heavily inspired by the characters of Dragonabll Z, rather than the plot. I thought I'd share the story and see what everyone thought of the story before i considered publication. I'll try and publish a chapter every day, depending on how editing goes. (I suck at editing just as a fair warning) For another warning, I wrote and named the characters based on personality, NOT their characters in DBZ...so some part of the plots will seem odd, in consideration of their character in DBZ...other than that. Please enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragonball Z. It belongs to Akira Toriyama. So pleasedo not sue. I am just a fan.

**Prologue**

Freiza is the current ruler of Earth. He was a power hungry ruler, and he was serious, stern and harsh. He didn't want any of his subjects to ever think they couldn't and didn't need to fear their king. He did everything to make sure his subjects feared him. Soon, that was no longer enough for him; he wanted the world to fear him.

In the world, the great God, Shenron, hid great sacred objects in every country. Each one was placed in temples, where all could see, but no one touched them. For if they were touched by someone other than that of the true royal families, destruction would fall over the world instantly. No one in the royal family ever touched them, as these sacred objects belonged to Shenron, and he was a creature to be feared.

It was believed that in order to make sure everything was in the balance; all the countries wouldn't touch their countries objects, and admire them from far, inside Shenron's seven temples. It was an unwritten, but agreed and understood oath between the leaders of each country.

King Freiza had other plans. He stole the Chalice of Arkgulm from his own countries temple. The effects were felt around the kingdom. Rivers stopped flowing, crops withered, and people got sick with a fever called Dash fever. Hundreds of Freiza's people died.

When the other countries found out, war was declared on Freiza's country Ice-jin. All of them threatened King Freiza's country if he didn't return the Chalice to its place. Edward wasn't scared, and had done his research. He used the Chalice, and made the same effects of his own country, befall the others as well.

The countries were in a stale mate. King Freiza feared no one, except for a Queen of the country north of him. She was powerful enough to possibly overcome him and stop him. He knew this, and knew he had to do something. He made use the Chalice did as much damage to her kingdom as possible, so that she would be shaken. Once this was complete, he told her he'd stop if she gave him one of her children, and he'd take the child into his care.

Regretfully, the Queen gave her youngest child, her son that she thought and hoped could take care of himself in another county away from her. Her son was taken, and her country went back to the way it was. Her people were healthy, there was food growing, and there was water to drink once again.

King Freiza knew he had won, and the county was under his control, and no other country dared to stop him. The world was going to hell; Freiza was personally making sure of this.

**A/N:** Prologue is simple, just a background story before we get into the swing of things.


	2. Caregiver

**Chapter 1**

The soldiers were rough and far from gentle with Bulma as her took her by the arms and forcefully dragged her across the floor of the castle. She yelped and cried, and stated that she could walk herself, but they didn't even bother to try and let her prove that she was going to indeed go where they wanted her to go. (Which she was going to do) They just forced her along, like a bad child being scolded and taken to a corner for time-out. Her arms were aching, and she felt like her arms were going to get broken if they continued with treating her this harshly.

"P-please," she cried. "You're hurting me."

They didn't listen to her, and her cries went unheard. She was very upset by all this. She was frightened and frankly, terrified. She wanted to go back to her village to be with her parents and siblings. Many of the teenagers in her village were taken away, herself being one of them. All the men and women were separated. The men were going off to be trained for the King's army, and the women, well Bulma know that things weren't going to be going well for her in a short amount of time. Being pulled along was the least of her worries.

She had heard of all the young women like her, taken from her village by their King, and forced to work in the harems for the soldiers and all their sexual needs. Bulma was young, but she was experienced with the acts between a man and a woman. There had been her fiancee back in her village, who had died just last year. He had been the only man she was close with besides her family, and she had experienced so much with him. Despite this experience, she didn't want to do this with some random soldier. She would gladly serve the King with anything else, if it meant that she wouldn't have to work in the harem.

The soldier tugged on her more harshly as they stopped in front of a door, and she cried out as she dropped and fell to her knees. He pulled his sword out at her, as if she had tripped on purpose. "Get up!"

She didn't argue, and scrambled to her feet. He grabbed her painfully by the back of the neck, and forced her foreword. The door was opened for them, and he nearly dragged her by her hair now. She had to jog to keep up with the solider, so she wouldn't get hurt if she fell behind.

She could see that she was in the throne room, and they were heading right for the king, who was sitting on his throne. There were young ladies all around, and they were all huddled together in a circle on the floor. They all looked terrified. They, like her, knew why they were probably gathered here.

King Frieza was considered a very handsome male for his species. Though to a human like Bulma, he looked nothing more than a disgusting lizard. He eyes were an a blood red hue, and he was completely bald, but he was almost completely white, accept for where a human hair line would have been. That was a deep purple, and it was shiny like a gem stone. His face was long and square in shape. He wore the Kingdom colors of purple and white. He also wore leathers over his clothing, and still had on a sword. He looked like he had come from perhaps a training session, or perhaps hunting, as she heard he enjoyed a great deal.

She was forced down into the group of women, and he took notice of her, for only a moment. And then he looked at all the other girls. He stared at them all for the longest time, and then looked over to a man who was standing beside him.

"How many did you say we needed?" he asked the man.

The man Frieza spoke to, was a largely built man, and had on a full suit of armour, and held his helmet in his arm. His hair was quite messy and it stuck out in many directions. He was very tanned, and on his left cheek there was a cross shaped scar. Bulma knew him as he was the Captain of the soldiers who had come into her village and had taken her away. She looked at him, and felt chills go up her spine.

"The harem is very full," he spoke to King Frieza. "We could take about five girls and then we wouldn't be able to hold anymore in there, for now."

Bulma didn't like how he added, 'for now'. She had heard stories of how rough the men were with the women in the harem. She didn't want to imagine what those women went through day in and day out.

"The women in the front row," King Frieza pointed at the first five girls in the front. "You'll be part of my harem."

Bulma felt relief that she wasn't going to be part of the harem, but she did still feel sorry for those young girls. Some of them were younger than here, and were probably still virgins. They were gathered up, and taken into a room attached to the throne room. They cried and made some cries for help and for anything else, and then the door shut behind them, silencing their cries.

"Now, how many do we need for the kitchen staff?" Frieza asked the Captain again.

"Ten should be enough," he answered.

"Grab any ten of them," Frieza told the guards.

The guards present started to grab at the girls, and picked up the first ten they got their hands on. Bulma wasn't one of them. She knew she probably wouldn't mind working in the kitchen, but no soldier even made a grab for her. There was just one other young girl left with Bulma. She was so much younger than her, and looked to be only twelve years old. She looked back at Bulma; she was sobbing.

"Now, you two," King Frieza stated, looking them over. "You will both become caregivers."

He looked at the two of them, and then pointed at Bulma. "Stand." Bulma was able to stand on her own before a guard reached for her to force her to her feet, which she was thankful for. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," she answered.

"Have any younger brothers?"

"Two younger brothers," she answered. She didn't dare look him straight in the eyes. She didn't want to know what was on his mind.

"So, you have experience in taking care of younger males, good," he spoke. "I am in need of a caregiver to my ward. This other girl will be put to work in the nursery, but you are more experienced, and I need experience for my ward." She was surprised by his words and didn't understand what he was asking of her. She didn't know that the King had a ward. She knew he was unmarried and he had no heir. A ward was news to her. "What do you say?"

"Yes your highness," she spoke, and bowed. "It would be an honour."

"Excellent," he spoke. "Captain Bardock, will you bring her to Prince Vegeta's Chambers."

The Captain moved away from the throne where he had been standing, and moved toward her. He seemed gentleman enough, and stood before her, and extended his hand to her. "Please miss, come with me."

Bulma knew there was no fighting her fate, and she took the Captain's hand, where she was lead away.


	3. The Ward

**A/N: ** Well I'm not entirely sure if anyone actually likes this story so far. But I'm guessing no one is going to actually share what they think until Vegeta actually showed up. And well, this chapter is full of him. So I hope this will stir some interested in this story. Please tell me what you think. Critique is ALWAYS appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonabll, Dragonball Z or Dragonabll GT. The characters belong to Akira Toriyama. They simply inspired this story. Please enjoy and don't due.

**Chapter 2**

Prince Vegeta was only ten years old, and he was a real wild child. He was a lot more than Bulma could really handle. Not to mention how cold he was towards not only her, but all the other servants as well. He had a temper problem, which she felt was only fuelled by the fact that he was being trained to be a killer.

She had a strict schedule she had to follow with him. She would wake him up, and then get him breakfast, watch him as he ate, while she remained silent. (He hated nothing more than taking while he ate) Once he was done eating, she'd dress him in his training clothing, and escort him to the training room. Once he was at training, she'd head to the kitchen where she'd have her own breakfast. Once fed, she'd go back to the Prince's chambers. There she would help the cleaning staff with his room. She'd tidy up around his bed. She helped the maid make his bed like new every single morning.

His red satin bed sheets were beautiful, and soft to the touch. His bed was a large four post and the bed frame were all made of a beautiful cherry red wood that went together with his sheets beautifully. There was a canopy over the top of the bed, and it was made of the same material as his bed sheets. Once the maid was done with the bed, they made up the rest of the room. His little table and breakfast was cleaned up, and then she placed his school work on the table and got it ready for the afternoon. During lunch, she'd pick him up in the dining room, where he had lunch with king Frieza.

Once he was back in his room, she'd sit him down, and they would practice his reading, and then math. He hated afternoons, and often shouted at her, and this would be when he would begin his verbal assault against her. It drained her the first few weeks, but after she got use to him and knew what to expect of him, she would ignore him screaming and wait for him to burn himself out. Once he realized what she wasn't taking his screaming seriously, he usually settled down, and got his work done in an orderly fashion. If he was done before dinner, she would take him outside, where he would continue to burn off energy, and doing what a child should do, play.

That was the time of day she liked best. She could run around in the gardens with him, chasing him and playing tag, or they'd watch the late afternoon clouds and guess what each cloud was. Sometimes if it was raining and he was done work, he would perform little magic tricks for her.

He was a talented young boy, but his magic skills were only that of a few defensive moves, such as creating energy to blinding , small illusions, such as creating a somewhat realistic copy of her, though it only lasted a few seconds at the longest.

When supper came, he went to the dining room for dinner with the king. Bulma was never present for those, but when she picked him up, after her dinner had been had in the back of the kitchen, he was always in a bad mood, and all the playing they did in the afternoons seemed to have happened. He would be nasty to her once again, and trying to settle him in for the night, was a nightmare. He'd fight her tooth and nail over going to bed. Trying to get him into his sleeping robes and under his covers without fighting with him first, was impossible.

He would often resort to striking her, and once he even threatened her with his sword. Though once she got him to sleep, everything was fine. She would then go to the room attached to his room. It was actually a small closest, which was used as her bedroom. It had only a bed in it, and a small shelf. She kept her clothes, that were all brown in colour, and they were all folded neatly on the shelf. The bed had a thin grey blanket on it, and the bed was very small, a single, and only fit her body. Once she was in that small room, she would collapse on her bed from complete exhaustion, and fall into a restful sleep.

The next day she would have the same thing happen all over again. Vegeta was not like any child she had ever seen before. He was rough, tough, fearless, powerful, and honestly he scared her sometimes. She felt that there was always a chance that he might just kill her one day. When he drew a sword on her that one time she felt powerless, and felt relief unlike any other when he put the sword down.

He didn't just act like a child she had never seen; he also looked different from other children. He had the sharpest black eyes she had ever seen. His face was round, and his skin was darkly tanned. He had a small nose, and had a small built frame. His hair was as black as death, and amazingly stuck straight up in the air. No matter how she style it or brushed it, it always stuck up in the air. It had a natural volume, and made it rise and almost made it look like it was floating behind him. He was very different looking than the other people of this country. This fit with the rumours that she had heard around the castle that he was from another country all together.

She had only a handful of chances to bathe how that she was working here. She was usually too exhausted by the time Vegeta was asleep to drag herself to the bathes for the servant's to use. And there was the fact that when she went to the bathes during the day while the young prince was training, she was usually harassed by the king's other captain, Nappa. And it wasn't just her; it was any of the females that were trying to bathe. Though when he took notice her of her there, it only made him worse. He often teased her that when the prince was of age, and he no longer needed a nanny, she'd become his whore. She did everything to ignore him, would bathe and get out. She hated that he would watch her though, and none of the guards nearby would do nothing to stop it if he chose to do something.

She would cry out for help so she could get him to go away, but they would do nothing, because he was a higher up than them. If Nappa wished, he could rape and kill them and not get any trouble. When he watched her, it made her feel more uncomfortable, especially with the ideas of her becoming someone's whore. Insecure was how she felt. As a child growing up, and becoming a young woman, she felt that insecurity with her appearance. As a young woman, where she fell in love with her dead lover, Yamcha, she had grown to believe that she was beautiful.

Yamcha always told her that he loved her blue coloured eyes, and her teal blue coloured hair. It was cut short, and was a boy's cut, but he told her, that her femininely shaped face and body shape made no mistake at what sex she was. She felt beautiful when he looked at her, and she had learned to truly believe it. Yet, when Nappa stared at her like he did, she felt nothing more than a piece of meat.

She gave herself a sponge bathe as often as possible, and hoped that it would get rid of the dirty smell on her. It must have, because Prince Vegeta never said a thing to her about her smell. Something she honestly expected him to make comments, such as 'No nanny of mine should smell bad.'

After weeks of the same thing day in, and day out, she found herself losing her energy as she worked with him in the same way all day, and all night. After this strain on her body, Bulma found herself sick.

On this particular morning, she struggled to lift her body out of bed. And once she was out of bed, she struggled out the door to Vegeta's room. He was still sleeping soundly in bed, but as the sun rose over the horizon, she knew he had to get up soon. She moved over to his bed slowly, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was a light sleeper, and his eyes opened slowly, and then looked up at her. His black eyes stared at her.

"Good morning your highness," she greeted, forcing herself to smile, despite her feeling like she was going to die.

He shifted, and sat up slowly, and began to rub sleep out of his eyes. He then crawled out of bed, and stood in front of her. He lifted his arms, and she took hold of his sleeping robe, and lifted it up over his head. She tossed it on his bed, where it would be picked up by the maid later on to be washed. She turned to his wardrobe, and pulled out some fresh clothing for him. She chose for him blue pants, and a suit shirt of a paler blue colour. She wanted to put on the matching suit jacket, but he was going to be training, so she just put his leather armour on over top. She didn't think it looked right, but this is what she had to do. She helped him dress, like she did every morning and left to get him his breakfast afterwards. He didn't seem to notice that she was sick, or if he did, he didn't say a word. That was fine by her; she didn't want him to worry (though she suspected that he wasn't going to take the time to worry about her).

She was going down the hallway, and was heading towards the kitchen for his breakfast. It was now that she was feeling dizzy as she wandered down the hall. She felt sick, and she felt her vision was becoming blurrier as she wandered down the hall.

"Bulma? Are you alright?" she heard the voice of a maid that she had become closer with. She shook her head.

"No, I'm sick Launch," she spoke as she leaned against the corridor's hallway. She could feel her legs were getting weaker as she stood and leaned against that wall.

"Are you trying to get the medical room?" Launch asked.

She shook her head. "I have to get Prince Vegeta's breakfast."

Launch shook her head, "I'll get his breakfast." She looked around, and called down the hall, to where she saw another maid. She waved her over, and the maid came over in a rush. "Victoria, can you take Bulma to the medical room please, she's very ill."

"Ok," Bulma agreed. "Just don't talk to him while he eats, and please get him to the training room afterwards."

Launch nodded. "Don't worry about it, just get better."

Victoria moved her arm around Bulma's waist, and Bulma moved to put her arm around Victoria's shoulder. With her new position between them, Victoria was able to begin leading Bulma to the medical room, on the complete other side of the castle. It was the longest and worst trip of her life. They had to pass a lot of other staff, who knew Bulma as Vegeta's caregiver, and asked her what was wrong. Victoria stopped a few times to answer their questions. Finally Bulma could take it no more.

"I'm really, really sick, I don't like rudeness, but please, Victoria, ignore them, and hurry to the infirmary. Please!"

Victoria nodded, and hurried along, and began to ignore everyone she passed. If someone was clearly upset that they were ignored, Bulma took the time she scream at them that she was sick as they hurried down the hallway. She didn't expect the trip to be so long, or as painful as this trip was. There were more people along the hallway than she would have wanted, and all of them were concerned for her. Which was nice, but she just wanted to get to the medical room. So when she finally made it, she just wanted to climb into one of the beds and sleep forever and never wake up.

"We have a sick patient," Victoria called, hoping to catch the attention of whoever was working in the room. A male doctor headed over to her, and looked her over, and pointed to a chair. It was no bed, but it was better than nothing. Victoria helped Bulma sit down in the chair. The doctor knelt down to her level, and placed a hand on her forehead.

"She has a fever," he stated. "Any other symptoms?"

"My vision is a little blurred," Bulma answered. "Legs are weak."

"I had to almost carry her the whole way here," Victoria added.

"I see," the doctor spoke, and looked her over a bit more. Then he ran his hand over her, and his hands started to glow white. As they moved over her, she felt a warm heat fall over the part of her body that he was near. She could see something rise out of her skin as he worked, and as it rose, it evaporated into thin air. Finally he drew back, and Bulma's vision had cleared instantly. She looked at the doctor with clear vision, and then Victoria. "Can you see now?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Good," he told her. He moved closer to her, and lifted her up without warning. He held her bridal style, and carried her away from the chair and around the corner, where she could see a bed. He placed her down carefully, and laid her down on the bed. "It's just a common fever. I healed the side effects of the virus, but the rest will be healed with some rest. You'll have to stay here for the day."

"Well that's good news," Victoria commented. "So I can get my work done then?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, she's in good hands here. We'll let her supervisor know that she is sick."

Victoria left the room, and Bulma was left alone with the doctor. She wasn't sure how she felt being alone with this doctor. She had heard stories of him being a harsh man, who had no bedside manners.

"I don't have a supervisor," Bulma spoke, she told the doctor. The doctor pulled on the blankets, and pulled it up over her, and covered her up with a blanket.

"You don't?" he asked, surprised.

"I'm Prince Vegeta's caregiver, so king Frieza is the only person I answer to," she explained.

"I'll let him know then," he explained.

He moved, and stopped in front of a crystal, and waved his hand in front of the crystal. A light rose from the crystal, and after a few moments, the image of king Frieza fell into the crystal. The doctor bowed. "Good morning your highness."

"Ahh, good morning doctor Sheppard," king Frieza spoke.

"I have some news about Prince Vegeta's young caregiver," he spoke. "It seems she's got a bad fever, so I have put her on bed rest for the day."

"That is fine," Frieza spoke. "But may I ask who is looking after my ward?"

The doctor turned to Bulma, who was laying on her side watching. "Launch, the maid who cleans his room has given him his breakfast, and is going to drop his off at the training room."

"Very well," he replied. "I'll send someone temporary to give his afternoon lesson."

The crystal went dim, and so Bulma closed her eyes, ready to drift off into a restless sleep. She felt the doctor close a curtain, giving her small little corner less light, and more an easier time falling into a much needed sleep.

When Bulma woke up, an unknown amount of hours later, she could see bright dark eyes peeking at her beside the bed. She blinked a few times, and then looked at Vegeta, who was sitting in a chair next to his bed. Launch was standing at the foot of her bed, and looked utterly exhausted.

"You're highness," she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't speak, but Launch did. "I couldn't get him to do any of his studied. He insisted on seeing you."

Bulma knew that Launch had witnessed Vegeta's famous verbal assaults to get what he wanted. And apparently what he wanted was to see her, and know if she was better. She smiled down at the young prince. "I just need some rest. I'll be fine."

Vegeta looked at her curiously, and watched her for any hints of lying. She gave him a smile. She honestly felt better now. A little bit of rest of all that she needed, just like Doctor Sheppard told her. It was a rest that she had clearly gotten; if it was the afternoon, and Vegeta was suppose to be studying at that time.

"You have to come back," he told her.

She nodded, and took his hand. "How about I go back, and lay down in my bed. Will you study with Launch for me?"

He shook his head. He wasn't going to be tricked that easily into studying. "I can't help you study today. I'm sick," she told him.

"I'll study tomorrow," he told her.

"King Frieza told me that you had to study today, which is why Launch is here, taking care of you," she told him.

Bulma could feel herself getting a headache as she listened to him. She normally would have ignored him, sat him down and force him to do his studying. Today she had no energy to fight against him, and was wondering if it would be worth it to let him have his way this time. She looked at Launch. "I'll take him back to his room; you go enjoy your afternoon."

"I can't let you do that," Launch cried. "You're sick!"

Bulma climbed out of the bed, and stood on her two feet. "I'm fine." Yet as she stood, she became dizzy and she felt herself almost fall to the ground. She placed her hands on the mattress for balance until she felt the dizzy spells pass by several minutes later.

Doctor Sheppard popped into the curtain and looked at Bulma who fixing her dress that was wrinkled from being slept in. The dress was brown like all the rest of her dresses. And it had buckles that hooked over her shoulders. Underneath she had on a white puffed sleeved blouse. "Miss! What are you doing?"

"I'm going back to my room," she told the doctor.

"You need to rest," he cried.

Without warning Vegeta pulled out his sword and pointed it at the doctor. "She's coming with me!"

The doctor cried in surprise, and Bulma's eyes went wide. Launch screamed. Bulma placed a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. He turned and looked up at her. She shook her head. "Put it away."

He re-sheathed it, and the doctor relaxed. "I'm going back to my room, don't worry, I'll rest up," she assured the doctor.

Launch stayed by Bulma's side, but she stayed a bit back from Vegeta, which Bulma naturally understood. Launch got a taste of what Bulma had been going through since she started to take care of the young prince. What she has been going through day in and day out for a while now. Vegeta had his moments of showing he was a good child, but most of the time, if not every moment of every day, he was unexpected and was capable of violent outbursts.

Vegeta seemed pleased that he got his way with Bulma, especially since it was the first time in months that he had gotten his way with her. He walked proudly in front of the two ladies, and led the way back to his room. After a lot of time of walking in dead silence, she finally saw them turn down into the royal hallway, where Vegeta's bedroom was located. She felt relief once they reached his door. Bulma stepped forward opened it to let him inside first. Launch stayed in the hallway with Bulma for a moment longer. She was looking at Bulma with her worried brown eyes.

"I hope you'll be okay," Launch told her friend.

Bulma gave her an assuring smile. "I can handle this little guy."

"How dare you call me little!" both girls heard his cry from inside his room. Launch looked worried, but Bulma wasn't. Bulma rolled her eyes at the prince's comment, doing this to show Launch that she wasn't worried in the least. Launch gave her an even more worried look. Bulma motioned for Launch to go on her way.

"Go, I'm more than fine," she assured her.

Not wanting to hear any protests from Launch, Bulma moved inside and closed the door behind her before turning to look at the small ten year old. She looked at him as he stood proudly and strongly in front of his bed. She looked at him curiously. "So, what now?" Bulma asked Vegeta. "You got me back here; you've gotten out of your studies for the day, now what?"

He got a grin on his face, and pointed to the chair he usually sat in to eat his breakfast and where he studied. She didn't ask why, she just sat down in the chair and looked at him. He brought his hands together, and started to concentrate on his hands. With a small burst of light a tiny flame appeared in the palm of his hands, and he walked over to her. He lifted his palms and showed her the flame. She might have known he was going to get her out of bed, when she was sick, just to show off a new magic spell he learned.

None of the less, she clapped her hands. "Wow! Great job!"

He wasn't through showing off, and turned to face the candle stick that stood on the table. He aimed, and then blew on the flame. It became air born, and began to float in the air, and danced as it moved across the open space, and then it stopped on the wick of the candle, and became part of the flame that began burning. She couldn't help but chuckle. "You've got quite the magical ability there your highness."

He grinned proudly.

A/N: Please share your thoughts. I will post more if I get any feedback. I won't know if anyone actually wants to read more of my stuff if no one will tell me. Critique is VERY important to me and this story.


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